


Rhythm

by snipsnsnailsnwerewolftales



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Humor, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Humor, Light Angst, Pack, Pack Bonding, Pack Dynamics, Pack Family, Pack Feels, Romance, Wolf Pack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-06
Updated: 2016-01-06
Packaged: 2018-05-12 07:16:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5657464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snipsnsnailsnwerewolftales/pseuds/snipsnsnailsnwerewolftales
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Really. We could use someone like you.” He leaned in close to your ear. “Plus that little heartbeat of yours is a great rhythm to fight to.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Derek Hale x Reader x Pack**

**Something that came to mind based off of Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space”. There will be more, or at least I plan on it, if people like it. I have a plot lined up. Let me know what you think!**

**Words:** 2,943

 **Warnings:** None that I am aware of. There may be in later parts, but this is just mainly funny fluff. 

**I do not own Teen Wolf or it’s characters. Sadly.**

Xxx

You’d laughed in Stiles’ face when he tried to tell you about the supernatural underbelly of Beacon Hills. 

“Look,” you said between breaths, still trying to ride out the wave of chuckles. “I know I’m still kind of the new girl and all, but pranks like this are a little past due.”

Stiles just stared at you, one eye slightly twitching. “No, look, Y/N, I’m serious!” He waved his hands dramatically. “This town is like the place where supernatural baddies come to party. They are drawn here by this old tree and- no, you know what? Let’s just simply say they are drawn here. It’s even in our name. _Beacon_ Hills…..” 

“So, Scott is a werewolf,” you started, and the boy waved at you to quickly lower your voice, but nodded. “Along with Isaac and Liam, but he is like, the General werewolf or something.”

“Ah, alpha. True alpha,” he corrected with a nod and small laugh. 

“And Kira is a fox spirit thing I can’t pronounce, Malia is a werecoyote, and Lydia is a banshee.”

He nodded vigorously, and tapped the end of his nose like he was playing a game of charades and you had guessed his word. 

“And there is an old family of werewolves here, an Uncle and his nephew, who is also an alpha, what did you call them….. Evil Incarnate and Sourwolf?”

Stiles chuckled again. “Yeah, but Sourwolf is not a true alpha.”

You just shook your head, moving past whatever obvious inside joke Stiles had about these two. “And you are?” 

He stretched his hands against the straps of his backpack, his thumbs straining against the material. “Um. Well, uh. Nothing. I was something for a while, but that’s a long story and it’s moot now so…. Yeah.”

You stood in silence, sharing various, unreadable looks between the two of you for several minutes before Stiles huffed and stared at the floor. “Look. Let me prove this. Is Scott down the hall at Kira’s locker?”

You looked over his shoulder, seeing your two friends all the way at the end of the hall. Turning back to Stiles you nodded. 

An impish grin appeared on his face as he stared at the floor and whispered, “Scott?”

You saw his head perk up down the hall. 

“Scott, can you hear me?”

He looked right at the back of Stiles’ head. 

“If you can hear me, I need you to do something to prove a point.”

Scott’s eyes narrowed at his friend as the warning bell rang, the halls quickly clearing as you hear Stiles’ whispered request. “Show her your eyes.”

Opening his eyes wide in realization, Scott looked at you with a small smile, Stiles mirroring him as you waited. 

Suddenly Scott’s eyes turned bright red, causing you to freeze in place, clutching your books tight to your chest. 

“Believe me now?” Stiles wore a smug grin as he watched your reaction. 

You turned to him, feeling your own smile beginning. “You have a lot of explaining to do.”

“Come with me after school. There is a pack meeting at Der- Sourwolf’s loft. You can meet everyone there. And bring gym clothes. Maybe Sourpuss might even let you train.”

Xxx

You rode in the back seat of Stiles’ jeep, listening to Scott tell stories about being a werewolf from the passenger seat. 

“So you guys risk your lives almost daily,” you mused quietly. 

“Nightly,” Stiles corrected. “It all usually goes down at night. Then we go an risk our lives at school during the day. Did you see that ‘salad’ today in the cafeteria? Wouldn’t take my chances.” 

You and Scott laughed softly as Stiles carried on. There was an unusual lull for a moment, a comfortable silence before you smiled. “So you guys are like superheroes.”

“Yeah. I guess so,” Scott mused, looking out his window with a small grin.

“If we are, then I guess that makes me _bat_ -man,” Stiles joked, catching your eye in the rearview mirror with a wink. 

“Hey, that bat has saved my life a few times, so that’s cool with me,” Scott said as the jeep pulled to a stop in front of a large building. 

As you got out, you felt like you were being watched, but you couldn’t tell from where. 

Following the two boys into the building, you expected to get nervous, but instead you only felt excited. 

They arrived at a tall door, sliding it open to reveal a large open space, almost no furniture aside from a couch and a desk, and what looked like a bed tucked away in a secluded corner. 

“Well, who do we have here?” A voice said from somewhere beside you, something about it making your skin crawl. 

Stiles huffed. “Y/N, this is Evil Incarnate.”

The older man rolled his eyes and held out a hand to shake. “Peter Hale.” You reached out hesitantly, his smirk unnerving you. “What’s the matter? I don’t bite. Well, not anymore,” he directed the last bit at Scott as he flashed vibrant blue eyes at the teenager. 

Stiles leaned in and whispered, “Peter is the reason Scott is a werewolf.”

“And I’m the reason he isn’t running around biting people anymore,” another voice sounded from deeper in the loft. 

Looking over you saw a much younger version of the man in front of you. 

Peter sighed and mumbled, “You die one time and they never let you forget it.” as he released your hand. 

“Y/N, this is Sou-” Stiles cleared his throat. “Derek Hale.”

Derek merely nodded at you, smiling a small, polite smile, which you returned. 

The rest of the gang arrived, and the pack meeting started. They discussed what must have been mundane topics from the looks of boredom everyone wore, but was fascinating to you. 

After about an hour, Derek clapped his hands together once and told everyone to get ready for training. 

You followed the girls to a room you hadn’t noticed before and changed into the gym clothes Stiles had told you to bring. They were all excited to have you in their group, adding another girl.

When everyone met back up in the main area, you saw punching bags hung and mats thrown on the floor. 

“Y/N is going to train with us?” Derek questioned, giving your workout gear a once over. 

“I-if that’s alright,” you stuttered, feeling a bit intrusive. 

“Fine,” he huffed. “You can work with Stiles.” He looked over to where your friend punched a punching bag only to have it swing back and hit him, knocking him on his ass. Derek sighed. “Actually, on second thought, and probably to save your life,” Stiles grunted at the slight, “let’s put you with Scott.”

“Fine by me,” you said. “Ready to have your ass kicked, McCall?”

He chuckled. “You do know I’m a true alpha, right?”

You batted your eyelashes in mock naivety. “But you’ll be easy on me, right?”

He laughed. “Sure, Y/N.”

Everyone had something to do while Derek supervised. You and Scott danced around each other on the mat, he let you get a few easy shots in before he flipped you, making you land on your back, his hand around your neck lightly. 

You huffed, climbing back to your feet and pulling your hair up into a higher, messy bun while Scott apologized, Derek trying to hide his laughter behind him. 

For some reason Derek got under your skin. He rubbed you the wrong way, but at the same time, you were drawn to him. And you wanted to wipe the smug look off his face. Turning back to Scott, you waved him off, tightening the padded gloves you wore. “Forget about it. That’s what this is for, right? I’m learning. Now come on. We’re not even sweating yet.”

“I like her,” you heard Peter say from somewhere in the loft. 

You danced around the mat a few more times, circling one another before you threw a punch, easily ducked by Scott. You threw a few more that he dodged, stepping out of the way when he sent one toward your face. You made yourself wear a mask of surprise even though you wanted to smirk at the confused look on Scott’s face. 

Soon you were side stepping and blocking one another’s blows with ease, and you felt all eyes on you. Both of you were sweating by now, and you could no longer contain your smirk. “You know what, Scott?” He lifted his chin to acknowledge that he was listening as the two of you continued to circle. “The reason you can’t touch me is because you are predictable.” He narrowed his eyes in confusion, and they flashed red briefly. “You skirt the mat for a few rounds then throw at least three punches. Usually you start with the face.” You blocked a blow to your stomach then ducked and rolled as he tried again, popping back up on your feet. “Then you do that.”

Chuckles went around the room as Scott’s eyes turned and stayed. You circled a few more times, dodging his blows. “Now you’re just getting sloppy.” He growled, lunging to tackle you and you side stepped, kicking your leg to your side to connect between his shoulder blades, sending him to the ground on his face. He rolled over and growled again right as you knelt down and punched him in the face, causing him to stop and blink a few times in confusion, his red eyes disappearing between the last few. 

“How did you-”

“You see, Scott, the best thing to do is know your opponent. Once you do that, the rest comes naturally.” 

Derek was eyeing you from across the mat with a scowl. “Take a quick break then I want you to go a round with Isaac.” You nodded quickly, wiping your brow and removing your glove, walking over to Scott to help him up.

“Good match,” you said, holding your hand out to him. Taking it, he jumped up, nodding. “You, too.” Then he grinned as he looked over your shoulder. “Isaac is afraid of you.”

Xxx

Isaac was a force to be reckoned with, that’s for sure, but you were able to find a pattern nonetheless. After he knocked you on your ass once and you returned the favor, you dodged and side stepped, ducked and rolled, blocking every swing at you. 

Isaac growled in frustration, his eyes flashing yellow as he charged you. You stood your ground, arms up and ready, and faked him out, making him think you were going to punch his stomach but punched his face with your other hand when he went to block his abdomen. 

Blood poured from his nose as he blinked away his yellow glow, touching the blood and looking at his hand disbelievingly. 

“Oh, my God, Isaac! I am so sorry!” You said, rushing to him. He appeared to sulk, smirking just before he lunged at you once more and you popped him again in the face out of surprise, a sickening crunch coming from his nose as you drew you hand back, jaw agape. 

Behind Isaac you saw Derek laughing behind his hand held to his mouth. “Peter. Come set his nose.”

Peter stood up from the winding stairwell with a smirk. He grinned at you as he passed you, ushering Isaac to the bathroom. “I like you. You’ll fit in just fine around here.”

Derek was staring at you, unwavering. You removed your gloves and wiped the blood off of them, thanking Lydia as she handed you a bottle of water and a towel for your face, never looking away from Derek. Taking a swig from the bottle, nearly choking when you heard Isaac scream from the bathroom, you narrowed your eyes, your eyebrows practically knitting together as Derek grinned at you. 

“Take another break. Then I get to go a round with you.”

Your jaw dropped as you nodded dumbly, and you’d be lying if you said you weren’t slightly nervous now. 

You turned to hide your face, covering it with the towel under the guise of wiping sweat. When you brought your hands down, everyone was looking at you with wide eyes. Apparently this didn’t happen often. 

Xxx

You had just caught your breath while sitting on the couch when Derek called you back to the mat. You scowled at Scott. He had just finished telling you that he knew you liked Derek. 

“What?” You had said after coughing on the water you swallowed the wrong way, looking at him wide eyed as he sat on the coffee table across from you. 

He had a shit eating grin. “Your heart beat. It speeds up when you look at him. And, granted you may have just been afraid, but when he said he was next, your heart skipped a beat.”

You had simply stared at your friend for a good moment with your jaw hanging open, apparently it’s favorite position today. He had chuckled, hooking a finger under your chin to close it. 

“But here’s the best part. He likes you, too.”

Stiles put a hand under your jaw from where he sat next to you in preparation to keep it from dropping again as your eyes went wide. 

You glanced at Derek across the room as he stretched, glaring at Scott as he made ‘thump thump’ heart noises. 

Yeah, sure he was attractive, and hell if you didn’t think about wanting to hug away his scowl when you saw him, but that’s the thing. You had just met him today. Anything past the thought of hugging away a frown and trying to turn it upside down was surely a mistake. Right?

You made your way over to the mat, ignoring the chuckling behind you, and held your head high. He wanted to play this game? Fine. You’d play. 

He raised his eyebrows in question as you commanded your heart rate to slow down. You had never been so thankful for years of yoga. After a few exchanges on the mat, most of them ending with you on your back and him above you, grinning, you huffed. “You know what, Hale? You think you’re so big and tough, all alpha wolfy and shit, but you know what I think? I think you are just a big, soft, squishy teddy bear.” 

Derek scoffed as you two continued to circle one another on the mat, the air in the room seemingly all sucked into the collective gasp of the group. “Oh, good. Witty banter always helps a fight,” he shot back, but you didn’t miss the split second shift of his eye color. 

You smiled. “Yeah. I mean,” you dodged a punch, your grin growing as his faded, “You’d think it would be distracting, trying to process words and punch at the same time.” You blocked a series of punches, scoring a kick to his stomach. “But, you know, it’s actually so easy. If anything it’s easier-”

“Oh, God, shut up!” Derek growled, unleashing a series of punches and kicks that you blocked and rolled from. 

“Okay,” you said as you popped up to your feet after a roll. 

His was extremely agitated, you could tell. He went in for another series of punches and you decided to go broke or go home. Ducking down and sweeping your leg, you made him fall on his back with a thud, the wind knocked out of him. You planted a foot on his chest, putting all your weight on it as you smirked down at him. You saw his arm muscles tense, and could feel him ready to grab your foot from his chest and down you again, but you clucked your tongue and shook your head. “Don’t do it Derek.”

“Why not?” He challenged back, his hands wrapping around your ankle slowly. 

“Because I don’t think you are wearing a cup.”

“I’ll take my chances,” he said, eyes flashing red, as he pulled your foot off his chest and rose to his feet quickly. 

As he pulled your foot up and away from you, you jumped off your other foot, landing a solid kick to his groin. 

Falling to his knees, Derek looked like he was going to cry. “I’m sorry,” you said in a voice that was anything but. “I tried to warn you.”

“Where have you been keeping her?” You heard Peter ask Scott with a laugh. 

Xxx

You were out on the balcony of the loft cooling off, watching the sunset when Derek came out and leaned on the wall beside you. “Mind if I join you?”

“Not at all,” you said smiling. 

A silence fell between the two of you as the last bit of sun disappeared. 

“How do you know how to fight so well?” He asked suddenly, his voice soft. 

You looked at him. “Like I told Scott, just read your opponents. You judged me based on my assumed naivety, but you didn’t know that I took karate for years before moving here.”

He smiled. “So, you were _reading_ me when you let me take you down those first few times?” He looked at you and Scott’s damn heartbeat thing popped into your head, only making it beat faster. 

“Yup,” you grinned before looking back at the skyline. “Plus you got in a few lucky shots.”

Derek laughed. “Well, either way, I just wanted to come out here and say welcome to the pack.”

You looked at him wide eyed. “Really?”

“Really. We could use someone like you.” He leaned in close to your ear. “Plus that little heartbeat of yours is a great rhythm to fight to.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Derek Hale x Reader x Pack**

**Okay. This one is significantly shorter, and you may be saying, “Huh?” as to how it fits but it does. I just wanted to get it up while I have it.**

**Words:** 1,927

 **Warnings:** None that I am aware of. There may be in later parts, but this is just mainly funny fluff. Though there is a bit of werewolfy violence.

**I do not own Teen Wolf or it’s characters. Sadly.**

Xxx

The ride home was oddly quiet, lost in your own thoughts on the night. You caught Stiles glancing at you in the rearview mirror for the millionth time and huffed. “What, Stiles?”

“Nothing,” he said as he practically bounced in his seat. “Just….. Oh my God! You kicked Derek freaking Hale’s ass tonight!”

The smile you felt climbing your face could not be put down.

“And not only that, you did it by kicking him in crotch. I mean….. You.” He pointed at you in the mirror, then flipped his hand so he was pointing right at you. “You are my new favorite person.” A beat. “Sorry, Scott.”

Scott chuckled, looking over his shoulder at you. “No, I get it. And honestly, I agree.” A beat. “Sorry, Stiles.”

You and the alpha shared a laugh at Stiles’ glare, only to have it fade off as Scott snapped his head toward the open window. “What?” You asked, something not sitting right in your stomach.

“Stiles, stop the car.”

Pulling over into the shoulder of the eerily vacant road, Stiles put the jeep in park as Scott continued to stare out his window. “Stay here,” he told the two of you before disappearing into the woods.

“Does he do this often?” You asked, trying to ease the tension.

“I would like to say no, but…. Yes,” Stiles nodded.

A car pulled up behind you, it’s lights on bright, concealing its shape. “Who the hell is this?” Stiles mumbled, looking in his side mirror. “Give me my bat. It’s right behi- argh!” He flailed as a dark form appeared beside his door, standing ominously. “Derek, I swear to God, one of these days I will actually beat you senseless with my bat when you do that.”

“Sure,” you heard Derek’s voice say, a smile in his tone.

“What are you even doing here?”

You just watched the exchange from the back seat, enjoying their banter and admittedly feeling better now that another werewolf was here.

“Scott told me he felt like he was being followed earlier today, and asked me to follow you guys home, see if I noticed anything.”

“I felt like that, too,” you said quietly, shrinking in your seat as Stiles turned toward you and Derek lowered his head to peer into the car at you. “At the loft, when we pulled up. It was just a gut feeling, I don’t know. Stop staring at me like that! It’s creepy.” They continued to stare. “Do you two have telepathy or something? A channel between your two minds solely for the purpose of being annoying?”

A loud howl, almost growl sounded, and both Derek and Stiles turned toward the sound, at full attention. “Scott,” Stiles muttered. “Give me my bat.”

Derek’s eyes were glowing as he rounded the car, looking at you questioningly as you hopped out. “What are you doing?”

“You think I’m staying here? Alone? While you and Bat-boy go and save the day? While I’m here alone? By myself?”

“She has a point,” Stiles agreed. “Although, I didn’t quite catch that one part…. You said you are worried about being what? Lonely?”

Both you and Derek looked at Stiles as he spoke before looking back to one another. You smacked Stiles on the back of the head without looking away from Derek, almost catching a smirk on his brooding face before the howl sounded again. “Fine. You and Stiles follow me. Try and keep up.”

Stiles shoved your arm, making you stumble sideways. “That’s for hitting me.”

You smacked the back of his head again. “That’s for….. Ugh! Don’t make me pull a repeat of what I did to Derek today, bat-boy.”

“You wouldn’t.” His voice held a small amount of fear.

“Try and see what happens.”

After a moment Stiles stomped off ahead of you. “Into the woods we go.”

Xxx

You heard the scene long before you saw it, you and Stiles sharing a look before you took off running toward the sound.

Scott and Derek were tag teaming against a very scrappy omega.

You had only entered this world today, but from what you had been told, omegas caught trespassing on territory had a lot of explaining to do before any amount of trust or forgiveness was offered. And this pour omega had two alphas on his ass.

Before you saw him coming, you heard Derek shout, Scott growl, and Stiles yell as the intruder jumped into a tree and leapt down at you, swiping his claws at you. You tried to block him, and were successful, rolling with the impact, tucking your body as tight as you could. You linked arms with him, swinging them out to the side a you rose, blocking his swings, trying to quell the fear in the pit of your stomach at his wild eyes. That’s where you were looking when it happened. Lost in the fear and longing to belong you saw in his gaze, remembering a time you saw that in your own reflection, you missed one of his swings and felt his claws dig deep into your gut.

The world seemed to go into slow motion as you looked down, touching the marks and removing your hand to see the blood. You fell to your knees, hearing Stiles’ cry of “No!” as it happened, Derek calling your name and rushing to you, and Scott growling at the Omega’s smirk at you. The world sped up again as Stiles’ bat made contact with the omega’s head and Scott tackled it, both of them tearing into the wild man. You felt light headed and began to fall backwards, caught in someone’s arms right before you hit the ground. Looking up, you saw Derek above you, inspecting your wound with knit eyebrows.

Taking your hand in his, he grabbed it tight, making you whimper. He muttered soft apologies as he closed his eyes, and through your hazy gaze you saw his veins around his arm turn black, your pain lessening with each second. He grunted and you squeezed his hand back as a way of thanks, catching his small nod of recognition.

Scott and Stiles appeared beside you, covered in blood, and you knew the omega was gone.

“She’s dying,” you heard Derek say softly, releasing your hand, the pain washing over you once again, causing you to moan.

“Stiles, are you crying?” You mumbled, trying to smile but it came out as more of a grimace.

“Of course I am, idiot! Bat-boy is not heartless,” he said, his voice quivering with tears.

“I’m surprised she has held on this long. That’s a lot of blood,” you heard Scott say. “That has to be a good sign, right? Maybe she could handle it.”

“Handle what?” Stiles asked.

“I’ll do it,” Derek said. “If she dies from it, then it’s not on your hands.” You saw him look down at you and softly say, “I’m sorry,” before a piercing pain on your wrist, stronger than your slashed abdomen, made you cry out in pain.

Stiles walked out of your line of sight, but you heard his bat coming in contact with a nearby tree over and over again. Scott disappeared and you heard the sound of muffled sobs. “I brought her into this!” Stiles was shouting, “It’s my fault! Why is it always my fault!”

“Stilinski,” you said faintly, hearing hurried footsteps back to you before his face appeared over you on the ground. “Don’t make me drop kick you.” Your smile was weak and your hand trembled as you reached for his. “It’s not your fault. None of this is your fault. You’re bat-boy. You save lives on a regular basis.” His smile matched yours and you felt the world fading around you. You faintly heard a plan for Stiles to drive you and Derek back to the loft, Scott following with Derek’s car, before you felt yourself being lifted and the world went black.

Xxx

You awoke the next morning with a start, the sounds around you coming back slowly, fading into your conscience before you actually sat up, looking around. Voices echoed from somewhere beneath you, and visions of the night before played in your head. Looking down at your abdomen, you noticed you were wearing a baggy t-shirt. It must have been Derek’s. Lifting it up you saw a blood soaked bandage over your stomach, and one on your wrist.

Startling at the sound of a cough, you looked up and saw Derek staring at you. Scott and Stiles not far behind, peeking over his shoulder. “Where am I?”

He walked toward you, your two friends flanking him. “The upstairs of my loft. It’s a guest room. Do you remember what happened last night?”

You nodded. “I am pretty sure I died for a second there.” He laughed softly. “I remember arguing with Stiles, and that omega, and I’m pretty sure you bit me like something from a cliche supernatural movie.”

He smiled again. You could get used to this. His smile made everything a little brighter, and you already knew in the short time you had known him, his smiles were hard to come by.

“Hey now,” Stiles said, “This could be a pretty epic screenplay, if I do say so myself.”

Derek groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose and screwing his eyes shut. “You and Stiles are too much alike.”

“Give me a bat and a jeep, and I’ll agree with you.”

He groaned louder. “Don’t even joke about that.”

You chuckled as he looked up at you again, sitting on the edge of the bed, your friends hovering. “Do you mind?” He asked, gesturing to your midsection.

You shook your head and held up your shirt as he worked on the bandage. “Thanks for the shirt, by the way. Pretty sure mine was torn to hell….” You trailed off and heard your heart beating in your ears, a fast, erratic rhythm as you saw no wound under the bandage, only dried blood around the streaks of clean skin that had been claw marks.

Stiles swallowed heavily at the sight of the dried blood and muttered nonsensical words before leaving the room. You smiled. Last night he wore blood like war paint protecting you but now he was nearly fainting in it’s presence. You made a mental note to give him a very large hug.

Turning to your wrist, you ripped off the bandage and saw no marks. Checking a few other places you noticed your scars from past injuries had also vanished.

Looking up to Derek you realized you weren’t hearing your own heart beat. You were hearing his. It beat in time with yours, it’s steady rhythm soothing your nerves. Flicking your gaze to his face, you heard it speed up, skipping a beat as you made eye contact, and he smiled.

“You’re a werewolf now. I can officially say, welcome to my pack.”

His words registered on some level, and you heard Stiles whoop from downstairs, but the only thing you could concentrate on was the steady rhythm his heart set, beating along with yours, and you couldn’t help but agree with his words from last night.

_Definitely a great rhythm to fight to._

Scott said something, but you didn’t hear it. You simply smiled and nodded when his voice stopped.

_To live by._

Holding Derek’s gaze you felt that same tugging you had yesterday, pulling you to him. The invisible string that bound you to him, pulling you closer with each ‘thump thump’.

_To fight for._


	3. Chapter 3

**Derek Hale x Reader x Pack**

**Okay. Now we are getting fluffy. I see a few more installments for this. What do you think?**

**Words:** 2,232

 **Warnings:** None that I am aware of. There may be in later parts, but this is just mainly funny fluff. Though there is a bit of mom’s being…. Mom-y. But very briefly.

**I do not own Teen Wolf or it’s characters. Sadly.**

Xxx

Tapping your pencil incessantly on your open textbook, you wanted to scream. Everything was so…. _Present_.

Sounds were louder, making the ticking of the clock above the teacher’s desk the most annoying thing you had ever heard, the simple act of brushing your teeth made you cringe as it sounded like gravel being pushed around your mouth, lockers closing became lockers slamming, and the once just irritating bell of the school now an irritating fog horn.

Smells were stronger, smells you didn’t even want to know existed accosting your nose often, smells you didn’t even want to know what they were wafted by on occasion, and smells that once were subtle, pleasant aromas like your light perfume now smelled like bad air freshener.

Sensations were the hardest to get used to, everything so much more intense, it was almost too much, and it reminded you of being little and staying in the bathtub or pool too long, getting pruny fingers, resulting in everything you touched just feeling odd.

“Y/N,” Stiles said softly beside you, making you jump, which was ridiculous because you had smelled him when he came in the room, but at the way you startled, he may as well have been shouting. He held up his hands whispering sorry’s and taking his seat next to you as you waved him off, muttering your own apologies, returning to your pencil tapping.

His hand over your makeshift drumstick is what caused you to release the breath you didn’t know you’d been holding. “Thank you,” you sighed, closing your eyes in relief as you felt tension release from your body, his hand moving to rest on yours extremely comforting.

Looking at Stiles, you raised an eyebrow at his soft smile. “It’s okay. I know. Well, I don’t _know_ because I’m not one of you, but, Scott went through the same thing. You’ll get used to it. I swear.”

You sighed. “But he is a TA,” You had coined the term for Scott’s pack status after the fifth time Stiles had shushed you in the hallway. “It’s been two weeks! How long did it take him?”

Stiles removed his hand from yours and looked down at his desk, beginning to tap his pencil in the same fashion you had.

“Stiles?”

He kept tapping.

“Stiles.”

He ignored you, flinching slightly at the low growl you let out.

“Stiles!”

Immediately stopping and turning to you, his eyes went wide. “Woah, woah, put the claws away,” he whispered. Looking down you noticed in your anger you had begun new etchings on the desktop. For a brief moment you wanted to smile, thinking they would surely look better than the eloquent male anatomy scratched lovingly into the wood, but Stiles’ voice jerked you once again out of your head. “Are those new contacts?” he asked in regards to your flickering eyes, innocently enough to not attract the filling class room, but you heard the tension in his tone. Finally he leaned in and whispered. “Use your anchor.”

“I don’t have one,” your voice was strained, starting to go lower than it had ever been, somewhat distorted and creepy sounding, even to your own wolfy ears. You tucked your hands into your lap, staring down at the desktop to hide your face from innocent bystanders.

Stiles was looking over his shoulder, muttering Scott’s name among curses and nonsensical sounds, his foot tapping incessantly. Finally he stilled, looking right at you as you continued to stare at your desk. “Alpha, beta, omega.”

Everything stopped. All the sounds that were flooding your senses, the sensations that were driving you crazy, the smells making your stomach turn in knots. The only thing that existed as you began to join with it was Stiles’ voice, repeating the mantra quietly. “Alpha, beta, omega.”

You turned to look at Stiles, your nails retracting and your eyes fading as you both continued the saying. Soon you heard Scott’s whispered voice join in, and you looked up to the doorway to see him peeking in, a small smile on his face as he nodded once and flashed his eyes. Isaac and Liam appeared behind him, joining as well. “Alpha, beta, omega.”

Derek had explained it to you that first day, repeatedly stressing how important it was to find an anchor, but until then, to use the mantra.

Stiles and Liam had laughed and shoved one another’s shoulders as they sat on the couch, recounting the story of a trip to Mexico with a freshly turned Liam who had nearly scared Derek before he taught them the mantra. He had snorted from the kitchen as he poured himself a cup of coffee. “I wasn’t scared.”

Isaac, being your only other “real” packmate had stayed up late with you, just talking and answering questions for the first week. He’d promised to protect you while at school, keep an eye on you just in case the mantra didn’t help.

You looked back to Stiles, smiling as the bell rang, glancing back to the door and seeing your friends had vanished. “Thank you,” you whispered to him.

“Of course,” he said quietly, settling into his seat with his own grin. “I don’t always need my bat to save the day.”

Xxx

Your parents had commented on you spending so much time with Scott and Stiles, your mother making a joke about meeting the family before things got too serious.

Without thinking you corrected her, telling her about Kira and Malia, to which she had patted your back with an, “I understand,”, some comment about “not needing a relationship at almost nineteen, you were still young” and walked away.

Arriving early for the pack meeting to let off some steam, each punch on the hanging bag was one less problem to worry about, or so you told yourself. Hey, you were trying to be therapeutic. But it wasn’t working. You felt your wolf taking over more than you wanted, shouting the mantra as you went, enunciating each word with a punch.

Derek chuckled as he walked back into the training room from the kitchen with a glass of water. It was almost to his lips when he spoke, making his voice sound strange. “Woah, tiger. Calm down. What bee stung your ass?”

One last pitiful punch before you stopped the swaying of the bag with both your hands, you un-velcroed your gloves, leaning against the desk beside him with a huff. “My mom.”

Derek smirked, a dark look clouding his eyes as he stared blankly ahead, and you remembered about his mom, inwardly kicking yourself. The glass of water still held at his lips, you took it and began drinking, staring ahead thoughtfully.

“Hey! That was mine!” His voice sounded miffed, almost grumpy, but the slightest amount of amusement hidden in there made you not feel bad about it.

“It’s just,” you began, throwing your head back to stare at the ceiling, letting out a frustrated grunt. You collected your thoughts as you continued to stare up, rolling the rim of your glass against the edge of your chin. “My mom made some stupid comment about it being ‘okay that I was single’ and I ‘had the rest of my life ahead of me’ and ‘for almost nineteen I still could find someone’.” You made a ridiculous voice and air quoted what she had said, earning a snort of amusement from Derek.

You rolled your eyes at the absurdity of what had been said, lowering your head to once again look forward, downing the rest of the water and setting the empty glass on the desk with a satisfied ‘ahhhh’, wiping your lips with the back of your hand.

Feeling Derek staring at you, you listened to his heartbeat, shrinking slightly as you looked over to him. “Sorry.” He just stared at you like he had that first day weeks ago, unwavering. “Okay, by the way your heart is beating, and forgive me if I’m wrong because this is still all,” you gestured in two large circles in front of you with both of yours hands, “very new to me, but with a heart rate that fast you are either extremely turned on or extremely angry.” His heart rate rose higher. “While I would like to say I think it is the first, it is probably the second, in which case I really need to start running.”

Peter walked down the spiral staircase and toward the front door.

“How long have you been here?” You asked, slightly terrified you hadn’t known he was there.

“Long enough,” he rolled his eyes, causing you to quirk an eyebrow at him, earning a smirk in return. “And that look?” He tilted his head toward Derek, “is not a look you should be running from. It is however one I want to get far away from. I’ll put a sock on the door handle.” And with that he was gone.

You let out a sort of half scoff half snort, pointing at the door. “A sock? What good would that even do? That door doesn’t even lock. I don’t think…. Does it?” You looked back to Derek, but before you had time to question any further, you saw his eyes flash for only a second before his lips were on yours.

Everything in your body went rigid, taken completely by surprise, until you gave in, relaxing into his touch. He cradled your face between his hands, angling your lips to deepen the kiss. Snaking your arms up around his neck as he wrapped his around your hips, he pulled you close, and you could feel his heart beating in tandem with yours.

That invisible string had just been pulled a little bit closer, drawing you both into something unexplainable and unexpected.

Pulling away, you were both breathing heavily, oxygen seeming to have disappeared from the planet sometime during the kiss.

“Where do we go from here?” He asked, leaning his forehead against yours, eyes cast down on the floor.

“I don’t know,” you admitted. “We’re playing with fire.” He sighed heavily, eyes closing, nodding in agreement. “But I’m willing to get burned.” His eyes opened, he seemed to be holding his breath and you listened to his heartbeat. “I’ve heard I heal pretty fast. Like, inhumanly fast.” He flicked his eyes up to yours and that now all too familiar murmur of a skipped beat sounded between the two of you. That was when you realized.

Hearing voices down the hall, the two of you separated like lightning, him to refill the glass of water, you strapping your gloves back on quickly, giving the bag a good swing with two hands so it looked like you had just unleashed hells fury on it.

Letting out a grunt, you punched the bag as the door slid open, the pack all filtering in, Peter last, closing the door with the same smirk he had when leaving.

“Y/N! I wondered where you disappeared to so quickly after school,” Scott said.

“Yeah, you had me worried,” Isaac said, a bit agitated.

“Sorry,” you said quietly, wiping sweat from your forehead and taking your gloves off yet again. “Just needed to let off some steam. Silly argument with my mom.”

Everyone nodded knowingly, accepting your answer. Derek suddenly appeared next to you. “Well, come on, lazy asses. Get ready,” he hollered in typical grumpy Derek fashion. Grumbles went around the room as Peter and his smirk climbed the stairs to his usual perch halfway up.

Turning to you, Derek offered you the cup of water, his features schooled into his signature scowl. “For me?” You asked sweetly. He nodded, something sparking in his eyes. You shook your head, unable to contain your own smirk that rivaled Peter’s. “No thanks. I’m good. For some reason I’m just not thirsty. Odd.”

Derek let out a low growl, turning away from you as he tipped the glass up to drink it himself, but you caught his small smile as he pulled the glass away, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, letting out a sound of satisfaction much like you had earlier, sending you an arched eyebrow on his way to put the glass away.

Following him into the kitchen, double checking the coast was clear of wolfy ears, you leaned with your back against the counter beside him and spoke quietly. “I think I found my anchor.”

His eyes met yours. “What is it?”

“Well, when we were _talking_ right before everyone got here, there was a moment of perfect silence.”

“The skipped beat.”

So he felt it too. You nodded. “This is so weird to say, but, it was deafening. Huge. And in the silence I finally realized it has been staring me in the face this whole time.” You held his gaze. “It’s like my mind was just waiting for me to fill in the blank. I just never thought it would be you.”

Something in his gaze changed, something softened, and a switch went off somewhere, illuminating a whole new emotion within his stare.

“Sometimes life can be funny that way. Stuff happens when you least expect it. And more often than not,” you leaned up on your toes, whispering in his ear, close enough that your lips and the tip of your nose brushed his skin, a slight shiver running through him. “It’s right under your nose.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Derek Hale x Reader x Pack**

**This part was fun to write. And I still see some more coming. What do you think?**

**Words:** 2,039

 **Warnings:** None that I am aware of. There may be in later parts, but this is just mainly funny fluff.

**I do not own Teen Wolf or it’s characters. Sadly. Or Star Wars, so any references to that and/or it’s characters/lines are not mine.**

Xxx

In order to get to and from Derek’s loft for meetings and training, you had to use Stiles as your cover. You didn’t want the hassle of trying to explain why the tall brooding man in leather picked you up once a week if not more, and at all odd hours of the day or night.

No. It was much easier to fib Stiles and Malia breaking up, you and Stiles getting together and being smitten with one another, thus leading to all the last minute, late night rendezvous.

“Are you freaking crazy?!” Stiles had screamed, flailing his arms when you made the suggestion, beginning to pace in the loft, arms flying as he spoke.

“Okay. I get it,” Malia said nonchalantly. “Just don’t kiss him or anything.”

“I will not pretend to be broken up with the love of my life- what?” Stiles stopped mid rant as Malia’s words sunk in, looking between you and her.

“I’m gonna have to at least once. I mean, don’t you think? At some point. They’ll probably get suspicious later on.”

Stiles’ jaw hung open at you.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Okay. But only if it’s necessary,” Malia agreed, nodding.

Stiles’ head snapped to her, jaw locked open in shock.

“Believe me. It will only be a last resort,” you said, raising your eyebrows at Stiles, whose jaw slowly closed and he stared straight between you and Malia.

“Hey, now,” he waved a finger at the air, slowly turning his gaze to you, making you laugh. “You would be so lucky as to kiss me,” he said.

“Oh, I’m sure,” you laughed. “But I think that works the other way around. I bet I could show you a thing or two, Stilinski.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?” He puffed up his chest, standing at his full height, almost bumping you with it as he peacocked.

You winked at him. “Oh, you’ll just have to wait and see when the time comes.”

“Time comes for what?” Derek’s voice asked from behind you, and you could hear his scowl.

“When Stiles and Y/N kiss,” Malia said bluntly.

Derek’s sputtering would have been cute if he hadn’t also looked like he wanted to murder Stiles. Well, more than usual.

You threw your arm around Stiles’ shoulders, his cheeks burning bright red as he tried to push you off, glancing between Malia and Derek, chuckling nervously, but you summoned some wolfy strength and held him tighter, ceasing his squirming.

“Didn’t you hear? Stiles and I are a thing now! All those long rides to and from the loft, night after night of studying and looking for my anchor….” You winked at Derek before turning you face to Stiles. “We fell in love.”

“Can’t…. Breathe….” Stiles gasped dramatically in your tight grip.

“No,” Derek said simply, arms crossed.

“Why?” You challenged, releasing your friend and rolling your eyes at his theatrics behind you, gasping for air.

“I can pick you up.”

“Oh yeah. My parents are going to love tall, dark, and brooding showing up covered in blood and politely requesting my help at whatever o'clock in the morning.”

“Why does everyone say ‘brooding’ when describing me?” Derek said, trying to pick apart your valid argument.

“Have you ever looked in a mirror?”

Xxx

The first time Stiles had picked you up in his Jeep for a “date”, you saw Derek’s car sitting down the street, his red eyes glowing right at you. You chuckled.

Turning to see it for himself, Stiles nearly jumped out of his skin, clutching your arm tightly.

“He just laughed at you,” you smirked, staring at the ground.

“Well, that’s nice,” Stiles mumbled.

“He says if you don’t let go of my arm he is going to- Derek…. Really?”

“Rip my throat out with his teeth?” Stiles guessed.

You looked up at him. “How did you know?”

“Wild guess,” he fumbled with his key ring as he glared at the car down the street, jumping with a small scream and throwing his keys when it’s engine roared to life, headlights flashing on blindingly.

Xxx

It was the night of your first full moon, nearly a month after you had been turned, and the pack had been called away for some Baddie who of course picked tonight of all nights to show up.

Stiles had volunteered to stay with you. “I helped Scott, I helped Malia, I helped with Liam. I know what to do. Go,” he had waved the group out of the loft as you sat on the couch, huddled in a ball, trying to keep your wolf quiet for long enough.

Looking up you met Derek’s eyes at the doorway, hearing his rapid heartbeat as he looked at you. “Call if you need anything,” he directed at Stiles, then looked back at you.

“Stay safe,” you whispered, trying to smile.

His heart only beat faster as he nodded curtly, turning to leave and closing the door behind him.

It may have picked up it’s pace, but it still matched yours beat for beat. It was still a great rhythm to fight to.

“Come on,” Stiles said quietly, motioning you over to the pillar that had the chains ready for you.

“Hurry, Stiles. For once in my life I am really hating these floor to ceiling windows. Too much moonlight.”

He chuckled. “Pretty soon you can frolic through the forest on a full moon with no worries. You’ll get there.”

“If you wanna wait in the hall, I understand,” you said.

Clamping the last of the locks, and putting the key in his pocket, he sat a chair just out of your reach and sat in it, facing you with a small grin. “Nope. I’m staying right here with my girlfriend, pretend though she may be.”

You chuckled, only to have it die on your lips as you felt something take over. All of your senses on high alert, and you couldn’t do a thing about it.

“Stiles,” your voice sounded demonic, your head down, staring at the floor as your breathed heavily, “really, you can go. I have no idea what I am going to say or do, and if I do anything to- ahhhhhh!” You screamed as a particularly rough wave hit you. “If I do anything to hurt you,” you heaved, trying to breathe as you felt your eyes shifting, looking up at him with your last bit of control, your voice a distorted whisper. “I’ll never forgive myself.”

“That is why I have this,” Stiles held up his bat.

You felt a growl come out of your chest, rumbling and deep. Stiles’ eyes went wide and he rose, flipping the chair around so it’s back was between you and him, and he straddled it, his arms crossed over the top cradling his bat, his chin resting on his wrists as he stared at you. “Use your anchor.”

“I don’t-”

“Oh shut up already!” You growled at him again, but he didn’t even flinch. “I know about you and Derek. We all do, Y/N. He isn’t just that protective of anyone,” he said with a small grin.

“Really?” You asked, the vulnerability sounding odd through your distorted voice.

“Why do you think I was so afraid to play your boyfriend?”

“Aside from Malia?”

“Point taken.”

A silence hung in the air. The moon shining bright in the room, the lights flickering, staying out. Stiles looked around. “Oh great. Great, guys. Thanks.” He saw your glowing eyes brightly shining in the dark. “Well, that’s not at all creepy.”

You lunged at him, the chains stopping inches from his face, and he staggered back, the chair making an ugly scraping sound on the floor as it slid, remaining like bars between you and Stiles.

“Use. Your. Anchor. Y/N.” Stiles’ voice was strong, resolute.

“Who are you, Obi-Wan?”

He laughed softly. “I’ve mentored enough werewolf pups through this, I sure as hell am, Y/N.”

Thinking about Derek only made it worse. You should be helping him.

It helped for a brief moment, but all that came crashing down when Stiles approached the chair once again, your features starting to fade, and you heard his heart skip a beat. That blank spot, just waiting for a name, waiting for the sound that proved its existence, made it’s thumping worthwhile.

You lost it, lunging toward him, your claws inches from his face, as he sat unwavering. You were able to kick the leg of the chair, sending it flying, scraping against the floor, Stiles barely scrambling off of it from his straddling position.

A determined look crossing his features, he strode over to the chair where it sat on it’s side, picked it up and placed it back in front of you, only this time, he faced it the right way. Sitting in it with his elbows resting on his knees, bent toward you, his bat across his legs, hands clasped tightly in front of himself, he held your gaze as you snapped, snarled and growled at him, not flinching at all.

“Are you done?” He asked finally, sounding entirely bored, his hands now steepled under his chin, elbows resting on his bat that had slid down across his knees.

His question caught you enough off guard to pause your almost rabid tantrum.

“Good,” he said dryly. Holding your gaze he continued. “You need to get a hold of yourself, Y/N. No, this is not easy, no this is not fun. It sucks.”

You were lunging at him once again, but he held your gaze as he spoke calmly, and you felt your ferocity fading.

“It sucks, and there’s nothing I can do about it. I brought you here. I brought you into this mess, and now, you are chained to a pillar in a blackout like a bad horror movie.”

He leaned back in the chair, bat ready, but held lazily in one hand. “I’m supposed to be your friend, Y/N. I’m supposed to help you and I just….. I can’t. This…. This is something you will have to figure out on your own, and I’m just supposed to sit here and watch. Maybe talk a little to remind you you’re human.”

He began to pace. You listened to his heartbeat. It’s steady rhythm didn’t beat with yours, but it beat at a tempo that created an interesting rhythm. A sort of jump beat. So intricate and woven together, yet so opposing…. Like night and day. Like the sun and moon.

You looked down at your hands, claws staring back at you. Like the monster and me.

You felt yourself starting to gain control again. “Stiles,” your voice sounded more like yourself, and you heard his heart skip a beat at the sound. “Tell me a joke.”

“Uh, those fangs are really becoming on you. They bring out the bloodlust in your eyes.”

You heard yourself laughing, and it was your own voice, Stiles’ soon joining in as you felt yourself gain control again, his heart skipping one more beat when you looked up to him with normal eyes.

“So you found your anchor?” he smiled down at you.

“Yeah. But don’t get too close just yet. Wait until the pack gets back. Just in case.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he said, sitting in the chair once again. After a moment, “If I can ask…. What was it?”

“You.”

“Me?”

You nodded.

He threw his hands up in the air, letting them slap down to his thighs. “Oh shit. Derek is going to kill me.”

You laughed. “No. Well…. Yes, he might, but not ‘you’ as in, well…. That way. ‘You’ as in….. My friend. You reminded me of my humanity. My pack. Sure, technically my pack aren’t humans in the technical sense, but…. We’re all a little bit human. On some level. And that gives me hope.”

“Hope for what?”

“That we can overcome whatever big bad decides to come to our town next. Long as the lineup may be, we will kick their asses.”

“So….. Obi-Wan gave you hope…..” He bit his lip at the pun.

You groaned and rolled your eyes, but your smile betrayed you. “No. He gave me….. Reminded me that I have something worth fighting for.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Derek Hale x Reader x Pack**

**I’m thinking only two more installments after this. And this one is shorter, but I anticipate the others being longer. What do you think?**

**Words:** 1,174

 **Warnings:** None that I am aware of. There may be in later parts, but this is just mainly funny fluff.

**I do not own Teen Wolf or it’s characters. Sadly.**

Xxx

To say Derek was a little miffed about not being your only anchor was an understatement.

“Derek, I don’t understand what the big deal is!” You called after him in an aggravated huff, following him as he stalked to the kitchen.

He spun around so quickly, you almost ran into him, stumbling back at the last second with a frown.

“Because, Y/N! Normally it wouldn’t be, but with you…. It’s different.”

“Well. That was enlightening,” you said slowly, mirroring the scowl he sent your way.

“It’s just different, okay? Can we leave it alone? Move on?” He went to walk past you, and you kept staring straight ahead, catching him stop in your peripherals as you answered. “No.”

He sighed heavily, turning his face toward you, and you slowly did the same, making yourself look in his eyes, your hand resting on your hip clenching tightly to remind you to keep your mouth shut and listen.

Turning his body toward you, he spoke in a low voice, laced with a tone you hadn’t heard him use before and couldn’t quite place. “Look. The majority of my life, I have been the broody, weird, lurker who is always in the shadows. I’m the one everyone hates. The monster. Who has a record because I take the fall for someone else. And I was fine with that. Until you.”

You slowly turned your body to face him, only to have him turn and continue walking away, running his fingers through his hair as he spoke, staring at the floor. “I was okay with being the fall guy, especially for one of my betas. I was fine, so long as I had pain. Pain makes you human. To grow up your whole life not having to worry about a scraped knee, a broken bone, hardly ever getting sick….. Pain was my anchor. And then you showed up, and made my heart stop.” He looked up at you. “And for this first time, I listened. Something everyone takes for granted, even us werewolves, just like breathing, you don’t notice your heart trying to speak until it shouts. And it shouted at me in that silence, in that little murmur. It was only one word, but it was enough.”

“And what was that word?” You dug the toe of your shoe into the floor, wiggling it around as a sort of distraction, glancing down at your laces as they swung.

“You.”

Snapping your eyes back up to his, you heard that tone again.

“I didn’t even know your name, but my heart knew it was you.”

You looked back down at your shoe, tapping it mindlessly into the ground.

“And then I find out that I’m your anchor. For the first time in a long time, someone cared enough about me that it made a difference. Not just in their day to day life, but in their shift. In my own beta’s shift. Hell, you should hate me more than anyone! I dragged you into all this, I made you, and I’m your boss. By default, you should hate me on principle.”

You looked back up at him, chuckling, seeing his own grin trying to turn up his lips.

“But you don’t. No, your heart spoke and you listened. But then it kept talking. Telling you that no, it isn’t me. It’s what my anchor used to be - holding on to that little bit of humanity.”

“Derek, do you believe in soul mates?”

He looked a bit taken aback, his voice somewhat nostalgic. “Yes.”

“You and I both have the same anchor - we hold on to being human, use the things that remind us of our humanity. When I realized that night of my first change that humanity was my anchor, it was the rhythm of Stiles’ heartbeat with mine. It didn’t match, not like ours. It set an entirely new tempo, with jump beats and opposing patterns, but somehow they meshed. And I thought, ‘Like the sun and moon. Night and day. The monster and me’.”

Derek took a sharp breath.

“So not only do we both cling to humanity, we both think of ourselves as monsters in a way, and try our hardest to remember what it’s like to be good, to not have this raging voice in our heads opposing everything that we know should feel natural, and right. And on top of that, we both carry our own ghosts, and their whispering isn’t helping. The only thing that is, that reminds me why I want to stay human?”

You listened to Derek’s increased heart rate, smiling, and hearing the skip. “Is that.”

Derek began to allow himself to smile.

“So don’t you dare feel like you don’t mean everything to me. I found my other half. The one who literally matches me beat for beat. Even the missed ones. Why would I ever let go?”

“Do you know why the missed beat is so important?” Derek asked you, closing the distance between the two of you at a painstakingly slow pace.

You shook your head no.

“Because it’s a tell. When someone lies, their heartbeat speeds up. When someone is calm, it’s slow, telling the truth? Steady. But a skip…. Is silence. It’s the most vulnerable part of a person, the biggest tell.” He was right in front of you now, looking down into your eyes as you stared up into his. “When your heart skips a beat, you need to listen, because it’s telling you something you might not even know.”

“How can silence say so much?”

“It’s the silence that says everything. It holds the name of whoever made it stop. If someone dies in front of you, and you feel like the world stops? It’s because they were a little bit of your world, and that skip is so profound, it makes your heart beat sound like it’s in your ears when you hear it again.” He took one of your hands, looking down at it as he laced your fingers.

“When you look across a crowded room, and meet the eyes of a random stranger, and all you see is them, that beat goes on for a while, and suddenly the world goes back to normal, because you realize they were always meant to be a part of your life. You just hadn’t met them yet.” He took your other hand with his free one, lacing your fingers, and staring at it with a smile.

“And when your heart beat stutters whenever someone walks into the room. Into your thoughts.” He met your gaze once again, and the resounding skip sounded between you both, making your own grin start. “Into your dreams. You know that person is your person. The one who will forever hold a piece of your heart. A part of your world. The beat of your heart.” His nose brushed against yours as his lips ghosted the last words against your own, a smile on both your faces. “The silence will always say their name.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Derek Hale x Reader x Pack**

**I’m thinking only one more installment after this. What do you think?**

**Words:** 1,874

 **Warnings:** None that I am aware of. There may be in later parts, but this is just mainly funny fluff.

**I do not own Teen Wolf or it’s characters. Sadly.**

Xxx

The doorbell rang, and you clamored down the steps before your parents could reach the door. “I’ll get it!” You yelled, stumbling slightly as you took the steps two at a time, skidding to a stop in front of the door before smoothing your hair quickly.

You saw your dad eyeing you from the doorway, and you shrugged your shoulders. “What?” He walked into the kitchen to join your mother, shaking his head.

Swinging the door open, you came face to face with a brooding Stiles.

“Oh, don’t look like such a sourwolf. You’re getting free food out of this.”

His glare only intensified, making you smile.

Your parents had wanted to finally have a dinner with you and your “boyfriend” of four months. Malia didn’t even care at this point. The two of you had an unspoken bond, and all it took was a look from you and a wave of her hand, and the clearance had been given, despite a thoroughly confused looking Stiles.

“I resent that comment,” you heard a familiar voice say behind Stiles, and looking up, your eyes grew wider at the sight of Derek, grinning like an idiot.

Stiles gestures behind him, his face still creased. “Now do you see why my face is like this?”

Stepping outside, you closed the door behind you, talking quietly. “Derek, what the hell-”

“He insisted on being my ride.” Stiles said grimly.

“What happened to Roscoe?”

“Derek.”

You leveled your gaze on the alpha’s face. “What did you rip out this time?”

Holding up a set of keys beside his face, he grinned like a school boy. “These.”

Suddenly Stiles leapt for the key ring with a small war cry, only to be swatting at air as Derek easily tucked them away behind his back, smiling over your shoulder. “Hello!”

Turning, you came face to face with your parents, the door held wide open. How was everyone sneaking up on you today?

“Mom, dad, this is Stiles.” You grabbed his hand, pulling him in with a smile plastered on both of your faces. Derek’s heart began to beat rapidly, the smell of jealousy and anger coming off of him in waves, and you wanted to smirk. Serves him right for being an overprotective little- You tried to kick the door closed, slightly miffed at Derek, but your father caught it just in time.

“Who’s this?”

Looking over your shoulder, meeting Derek’s expectant eyes as he played the part of innocent bystander, you snarled slightly, catching the slightest lift of the corner of his mouth. “Oh. Sorry. This is Derek. He just gave Stiles a ride, today. He was just leaving-”

“Nonsense!” Your mother said, and you could swear you heard Derek snicker softly. And Stiles groan under his breath. “You’ll stay for dinner!”

“Oh, no, I couldn’t-”

“Yes you can, and you will!” She said, pulling him inside, but you intercepted, releasing Stiles’ hand and taking Derek’s arm from your mother’s grip.

“Okay, but first, can you show me that thing you said you brought?” Derek looked at you with knit eyebrows. “You said it was in your trunk? Outside? In your car?”

“Oh! Yes, I saw him put it there,” Stiles said, catching on. “I’ll come, too.”

Your parents looked beyond confused, but you just smiled and pulled the door shut as you all made your way out to the car. Opening the trunk, as soon as it was up, you leaned into Derek. “What the hell?! You are not staying! This is ridiculous!”

“What’s ridiculous is that voice you are using,” Derek said with a smirk.

“And why all this smiling? You never smile!”

“I smile!” He said with a scowl.

“No, you don’t,” you and Stiles said in unison.

Pointing to Stiles, Derek’s face became serious. “This is why I am here. You two are becoming more and more alike and it needs to stop. I can only handle so much sarcasm at once. Both of you together is like, astronomically too high levels.”

“So then why are you staying for dinner?” Stiles asked calmly.

“He makes a good point,” you nodded.

“No he doesn’t!”

“Wait a minute. Is Derek Hale actually jealous of me just because I get to be near Y/N more often?”

Your jaw dropped as you turned back toward Derek who was fuming. “That is totally it! It’s killing him!”

“You two are acting like children,” he muttered. Grabbing a book from the trunk, he slammed it shut, glowering at the two of you. “And no, I am not jealous, because he may get to spend more time with you, but he doesn’t know you like I do. That one spot behind your ear that makes you-” he chuckled as you pushed him gently, stopping his insinuations as he pushed past the two of you back toward the house.

Stiles flailed his hands like he was flinging off a disgusting substance. “Ewwwwwww! Never talk about that stuff in front of me again! Or anyone! Ever!” He shuddered.

“What are you, five?” You asked. “I can see where the claw marks start on your back, bat boy.”

“Hey!” He waved a finger at you. “It’s not my fault she has gotten very possessive since this whole thing started-”

You held up a hand for him to stop, shutting your eyes before letting out a violent shudder. “I didn’t need to know that.”

“What are you, five?” He teased, and you shoved his shoulder as you both went back into the house.

Xxx

The dinner had gone smoothly so far, the only disruption coming when Derek kicked Stiles under the table after he took your hand in his own after paying you a compliment.

Stiles had looked up at a smirking Derek across the table, and swiftly kicked him back, making the alpha grimace, only to have Stikes smirk and attempt to give one more for good measure, only to miss, the swinging motion of his foot so violent it nearly made him fall out of his chair when Derek moved out of the way at the last second.

Your mom and you cleared the dishes, and you nearly dropped the entire pile when she said, “So what is going on out there?”

“What do you mean?”

“The two of them are fighting over you.”

You looked at her and laughed. “I promise, that is not what is happening.”

Stiles walked in, smiling when he saw you, and wrapping his arms around your waist from behind, resting his chin on your shoulder. “Is it time for dessert?”

You laughed softly. Sure, Stiles was invading your personal bubble, and sure, you would kick his ass for it later, but for now, the fuming look on Derek’s face as he carried some glasses in was worth it. “Yes, honey. Go back out there and I will bring the chocolate silk pie out.”

Stiles disappeared faster than you had ever seen him move.

“I got it. Don’t worry,” Derek said, gently taking the pie off of the counter. You didn’t like the look in his eye as he disappeared into the dining room.

Your mom leaned in and whispered, “You picked a good one, darling. That Stiles, he’s a sweetheart.”

Before you could answer, you heard a clamor in the dining room, Stiles letting out a little screech shortly followed by Derek saying, “Oh, I’m so sorry, dude! I tripped! What did I even trip on?”

“Nothing,” you heard Stiles mutter under his breath. “Air. Gravity. Your own pride.”

You began to laugh, and shortly after a sheepish looking Derek appeared, his eyes glinting mischievously for only a second as he look at you, Stiles following shortly after, walking like a mummy from an old horror movie, trying not to drip whipped cream or pie anywhere.

Xxx

The rest of the evening was filled with laughter and conversation, you getting lost in the way your heart beat matched the one across the room so perfectly. The way the one next to you made a rhythm you wanted to dance to.

Try as hard as you might, you kept feeling Derek’s eyes on you, and your eyes being pulled to him.

The conversation had lulled after a round of laughter, and you made a decision as you stared at the floor. “You know what? I can’t do this anymore.” You looked at each face, a smile you couldn’t control on your own. Meeting Derek’s gaze, that skipped beat cemented your decision. “Mom, dad, Stiles and I aren’t dating. He is dating Malia, and has been the whole time.”

“I don’t understand,” you mother said.

“Well then who _are_ you dating?” Your father asked.

That skipped beat sounded once again, and this time you heard it. The emptiness did hold a name. “Derek.”

“I _knew_ it!” Your mother cried, making you all jump. “I _knew_ it!” Everyone looked to her. “You two have way too much chemistry.”

“So why the cover up?” Your dad asked.

“Well, that is kind of complicated, and I don’t really know how to explain that-”

“We’re werewolves,” Derek deadpanned.

After a few moments of silence, both of your parents burst out laughing. “No, seriously, what’s going on?”

Derek nodded at you, and you turned to your parent’s, both of you flashing your eyes. “Oh, this can’t end well,” Stiles muttered, sliding a hand down his face, holding it over his mouth as he watched your parents.

After a moment, your mother fainted, your father frozen like a statue with his mouth slightly open. Stiles frantically ran to your mother, Derek slowly making his way over as well so as not to scare your father.

“Daddy?” You tried, waving a hand in front of his face, but he was frozen.

“Thank you, Derek. I think you broke my dad.”

Xxx

It took several hours, but after explaining and re-explaining to your parents, with the help of Stiles and Derek, all about the other members of the pack, and how Derek had saved your life, and reassuring them they were safer here despite all the dangers, your parents came around to the possibility of accepting your wolflihood sooner or later.

You walked your two friends back out to the car, giving Stiles a large hug, which he returned. “You’re the best fake boyfriend ever!”

“And that’s exactly what every guy wants to hear!” You both laughed as you pulled away.

“You got some whipped cream in your hair,” you said, swiping at the little bit you saw.

“Still?!” Stiles whirled around to look in the car window, thoroughly inspecting his reflection.

With a chuckle you turned around the face Derek, who wore a wide grin. “Sorry I just dropped that information on your family. I know I could have been subtler, but I hate beating around the bush. You know that-”

You stopped him with a kiss, the only sound your hearts matching beat for beat, the silence once again surrounding you before the rhythm resumed. “Thank you,” you said, pulling away just enough to speak.

“Ewwwwwww!” Stiles said behind you, the jiggle in his voice proving he was waving his hands like before.

“Oh, shut up and get in the car,” Derek said. “What are you, five?”


	7. Chapter 7

**Derek Hale x Reader x Pack**

**This is it. The last installment. What did you think?**

**Words:** 1,149

 **Warnings:** None that I am aware of. There may be in later parts, but this is just mainly funny fluff.

**I do not own Teen Wolf or it’s characters. Sadly.**

Xxx

Time passed, bad guys came and went, but Beacon Hills remained the same. Protected. Surrounded by a squad of do-gooders with supernatural abilities. You made yourself smile as you wrote the last line in your diary.

“‘Surrounded by a squad of do-gooders with supernatural abilities’?” You jumped at Derek’s skeptical voice behind you, glancing up to see him reading over your shoulder, an amused look on his face.

Gasping and slamming the book shut, you turned to face him in your chair. “How dare you! Reading my diary _and_ insulting it, too?” You tisked, shaking your head in mock disappointment.

“You are complaining about my criticism while ignoring the fact that I just snuck up on you? You’re getting sloppy. You also should set your priorities.”

You smiled down at the floor ruefully. “Really, Hale?” Your priorities were plenty set, and that was what was terrifying. Anytime it was just the two of you, your keen senses faded away, and simple things like jumping out of closets or coming around a corner had become a normal thing. He loved that he could scare you.

But you had noticed the same thing happening with him.

Looking up into those eyes you had come to memorize, you spoke quietly, almost sadly. “My priorities are as straight as they can be.”

He crossed his arms, Mr. Broody Pants coming on. “Oh really? Then tell me.”

You rose from the chair, going around to it’s back and leaned against it. The wood groaning slightly in protest oddly similar to how you felt, creaking against the new pressure. Holding Derek’s gaze, you spoke calmly. “My priorities scare me, they are so clear. And living here, among the supernatural badasses, they are constantly having to shift. Death or life? Friends or family? Pack or blood? You. That’s the one I always come back to, the one I have to fight to put below anything else, despite what is necessary. And I find more and more that I can’t.”

Derek’s face softened, his arms dropping slowly to his sides.

You began to smile as you continued. “I can’t put you any lower on my list than the top, and I think that is why you can startle me, and why I can make you scream like a banshee if I sneak up on you. We’re comfortable with one another. We trust each other. Explicitly. And I always have. Right from the start, I knew. I knew you were someone I could trust no matter what. And I do.”

Derek stood motionless across from you, staring, a soft look in his eyes the only giveaway of any emotion in particular.

“You were right. It’s a great little rhythm to fight to, and now that I can hear it, too, it’s all I can think about when I can’t hear it. You saved my life, helped me become who I am, and I’m thankful everyday. But even before all that, even though it was only a few hours, somehow I knew.”

Derek was smiling softly, looking like he was about to cry, something he had only ever done in extreme circumstances, like a death he feels he could have prevented, or when thinking about his family, and even sometimes when he snuck down to watch Netflix after you were asleep. The Titanic had caused him to break down into a hopeless little puddle of sobs and incoherent muttering.

“Remember…. Remember when you told me about when you first saw me? You said there was a word in the silence.”

Derek nodded. “You. I didn’t even know your name, but my heart knew it was you.”

You nodded, feeling your own tears coming. “That is exactly what you said.”

“I know. I would never forget that. I couldn’t even if I wanted to.”

“Remember when you told me about all the different types of silences?”

He nodded. Nodding seemed to be the only applicable response to avoid the tears you had threatening to spill.

“What type was I?”

He smiled and reached out for your hand, taking it gently, and closing the distance as a silent tear finally fell down his face. “All of them.”

Oh hell. That did it. Now you were letting the tears fall, holding back the disgusting, snotty sob of a laugh you knew was building in your throat.

“It was like seeing someone die in front of me, and the world just stopped.”

“Because they were a little bit of your world, and that skip is so profound, it makes your heart beat sound like it’s in your ears when you hear it again.” You finished his explanation for him.

He nodded. “It was like when you look across a crowded room, and meet the eyes of a random stranger, and all you see is them. All I saw was you. My mouth was moving, sounds coming out, and my feet were moving, carrying me forward, but all that existed was you.”

“That beat goes on for a while, and suddenly the world goes back to normal, because you realize they were always meant to be a part of your life. You just hadn’t met them yet.”

He was looking down at your joined hands, smiling as he gave them a gentle squeeze.

“And when your heart beat stutters whenever someone walks into the room. Into your thoughts. Into your dreams. You know that person is your person. The one who will forever hold a piece of your heart. A part of your world. The beat of your heart. The silence will always have their name.”

He met your eyes once again, and you let out a loud sniffle, making him laugh softly and you shoved him gently with your shoulder.

“Do you remember what you told me?” He asked in a quiet voice.

You nodded. All you could manage was a whisper. “So don’t you dare feel like you don’t mean everything to me. I found my other half. The one who literally matches me beat for beat. Even the missed ones. Why would I ever let go?”

He pulled your joined hands up between you both, leaning into you, resting his forehead against yours, only managing a whisper himself. “I found my other half. My anchor. My _mate_. The one who literally matches me beat for beat. Even the missed ones. Why would I ever let go?”

A silence hung in the room as the words sunk in. A silence filled only with the sound of two hearts beating in perfect tandem. Even the skips. Except now the skips weren’t the familiar silence you had grown used to. They didn’t have just a name. They had a new word.

 _Home_.

You looked up into Derek’s eyes, and you knew he heard it, too. The moment your eyes met, the new silence surrounded you. And you knew your priorities were set right.

 _Home_.


End file.
